GD Reports 3Q Results

General Dynamics reported 2002 third quarter net earnings of $268 million, or $1.32 per share on a fully diluted basis, on sales of $3.3 billion. Before the impact of FAS 142, which changes the way companies account for goodwill in business combinations, earnings per share increased 13 percent over the third quarter of 2001, when net earnings were $230 million, or $1.13 per share, on sales of $3 billion. (Including the effects of FAS 142, earnings per share in the third quarter of 2002 increased 17 percent.) Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $254 million for the 2002 third quarter. The quarter ended on September 29, 2002. For the first nine months of 2002, sales were $9.9 billion, compared with $8.7 billion for the first nine months of 2001. Net earnings for this nine month period were $760 million, or $3.74 per share fully diluted, compared with net earnings of $669 million, or $3.30 per share, for the first nine months of 2001, excluding a non-recurring tax gain recorded in the first quarter of 2001. Net cash provided by operating activities for the first three quarters now totals approximately $592 million. "This was a very good quarter, with a $4.02 billion increase in our backlog on the strength of major shipbuilding increases and Gulfstream orders. We ended the quarter with a total backlog of $29.5 billion, $21.5 fully funded," said Nicholas D. Chabraja, chairman and CEO of General Dynamics.